No one said it in so many words, but the Carolina Hurricanes must be breathing an enormous sigh of relief.

After starting the season with a 5-1 clunker at the Florida Panthers and 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the home opener, Carolina was desperate for some proof its revamped offense was everything it was cracked up to be.

After a solid but tentative first period against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, the Hurricanes got all the evidence they needed.

Eric Staal scored a hat trick, and Jeff Skinner added two goals to lift Carolina to a 6-3 win at PNC Arena.

After Skinner found the net with a top-shelf backhander early in the second period, the Hurricanes seemed to come to life playing with their first lead of the season.

“You could just see the tension go away from our guys,” Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. “They started to relax and play. It’s nice playing with the lead.”

Staal said, “It was nice to see [Skinner] get that first one and get the building going and ease the guys a little bit.”

Carolina had a two-goal lead within three minutes, getting a little puck luck from defenseman Justin Faulk.

With the Hurricanes shorthanded, Jordan Staal blocked a diagonal pass that led to a 3-on-1. Faulk carried the puck up ice and beat Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth with a low shot. After nearly two-and-a-half games marked by near misses, Carolina cashed in on a fluky one.

“I was trying to pick a spot,” Faulk said tentatively before smiling. “My stick broke and it went in the net. It wasn’t necessarily the spot I was going for, but it fooled him.”

On this day 36 Years Ago, Rick Martin lite up the All-Star game scoring 2 goals including the Game Winner earning the All-Star MVP Honors in the Wales Conference 4-3 win over the Campbell Conference. The 77 All-Star Game marked as the League’s 30th All Star Game in the NHL’s History. Martin scored twice in the 3rd Period and got the game winner with 1:56 left in the game. Martin wasn’t the only Sabre on the All-Star team. He was joined by fellow French Connection Line Mate Gilbert Perreault, Defensemen Jim Schoenfeld, and Goaltender Gerry Desjardins.